Josh Blackman » 6 Months Later, Still waiting on Views of Solicitor General in Nebraska and Oklahoma v. Colorado Original Jurisdiction #SCOTUS Case

6 Months Later, Still waiting on Views of Solicitor General in Nebraska and Oklahoma v. Colorado Original Jurisdiction #SCOTUS Case

November 30th, 2015

In May 2015, the Supreme Court requested the views of the Solicitor General on Nebraska and Oklahoma’s original jurisdiction suit against Colorado, stemming from their legalization of marijuana. Six month later, according to the docket, the views still have not been filed.

As I’ve noted for some time, it will be very interesting to see how the SG explains–or ignores–the fact that the President has decided not to prosecute any marijuana crimes in states that have legalized it. The administration’s reasoning has been, to say the least, hazy. But the SG’s brief must meet a higher standard.

Update: By way of comparison, a CVSG in Harris v. Quinn was requested on 6/29/12 and was not filed till 5/10/13. If that year-long schedule holds, Solicitor General Verrilli may just wait for the next administration to figure this out. Or file something on the way out the door.